Fortress Europe: The wall is getting higher

Indian and Bangladeshi migrants and asylum seekers in the Secovce detention centre, eastern Slovakia, where guard dogs were recently removed after protests from humanitarian organizations.

BUDAPEST, April 26 (UNHCR) – The picturesque stretch of the Carpathian mountain range which marks the frontier between Ukraine and Slovakia is, despite its remoteness, rigorously patrolled on both sides of the border. For this route is being increasingly used by both migrants and refugees alike as an entry point into the European Union.

On the Ukrainian side of the border, guards patrol day and night, intercepting people trying to cross illegally. The numbers are on the rise. While only 947 people were intercepted at the Ukrainian-Slovak border in 2003, a year later the number had climbed to 2,274 and, by 2005, doubled to 4,486. Non-governmental organisations estimate that these figures represent about 50 percent of people attempting to cross the border. It is thought that 80 percent of those who escape the Ukrainian patrols are then caught by the Slovak authorities on the other side.

The number of people applying for asylum on the Ukraine side of the border, in the Zakarpattia area which is the main illegal entry point into the European Union, has also increased dramatically. In 2005, the number of asylum applications increased almost four times compared to 2004. The 797 applications received accounted for almost 50 percent of all new asylum seekers registered in 2005 in Ukraine. But despite the high number of applications, overall the refugee recognition rate in Ukraine for 2005 was less than 0.4 percent. Last year, not a single person who applied from the Zakarpattia region was granted refugee status.

Recently, the majority of the intercepted individuals come from countries such as the Russian Federation (Chechens), the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, as well as the Caucasian region, but also from countries further afield such as China, India, Bangladesh and Viet Nam.

However, in the countries which make up the EU's new eastern frontier – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia – despite the rise in numbers of people entering the EU, there has been a sudden sharp drop in those seeking asylum. Between 2004 and 2005, the number fell 44 percent, from 21,867 to 12,190 people.

"We know there is a mixed flow of asylum seekers and economic migrants," says Lloyd Dakin, UNHCR regional representative in Budapest. "But we are extremely concerned that strict border control systems make it impossible even for refugees to cross."

Therefore, the regional office in Budapest is preparing a major border monitoring project for the next few years that will include land borders, harbours and airports.

In line with European practice, Ukrainian government policy and funding focuses more on prevention of irregular migration and on border controls. Over the last few years Ukraine has developed legislation, institutions and structures towards building an effective asylum system. But problems continue with regard to the interpretation of national legislation in line with international standards. The treatment of detainees and the detention conditions remain poor due to inadequate state budget allocations.

For example, in the Zakarpattia region, UNHCR's partner, the NEEKA Foundation, and other humanitarian organizations have to provide food, medicine, clothes, transportation, legal and social counselling, interpretation and even finance the rent of a hostel or shelter for asylum seekers admitted into the procedure, in order to ensure that asylum seekers receive at least a minimum standard of treatment.

Just across the border from Ukraine, in Slovakia, refugees and migrants, including families with small children, are kept in detention centres for up to six months. At the Secovce detention centre in eastern Slovakia, people are allowed to exercise outside for half an hour, twice a day in a courtyard surrounded by barbed wire. Guard dogs were recently removed after protests by humanitarian organisations. They are provided with food and medical care, and lawyers and social workers have access to the detainees.

In the canteen at the detention centre in Secovce, eastern Slovakia. Migrants and asylum seekers are allowed outside only twice a day for thirty minutes in a courtyard surrounded by barbed wire.

Hassan escaped his native Chechnya, and managed to cross into the EU. He is currently one of the people in the Secovce detention centre. "I do not want to kill anyone," he says, "neither my fellow Chechens nor Russians. But this is impossible in my country. And everywhere else, they tell you: You are Chechen, so you are a terrorist."

But not everyone, it seems, who is intercepted ends up in a detention centre. UNHCR has received worrying reports that some Chechens who entered EU territory, by crossing from Zakarpattia irregularly into Slovakia, were unlawfully denied access to asylum procedures there. Instead groups have been returned and re-admitted to Ukraine and then deported back to the Russian Federation.

In theory, everybody who applies for asylum should be granted access to an asylum procedure, released from detention and have their claim decided, be it in Slovakia or in Ukraine. But with the mix of migrants and asylum seekers, as well as the criminal elements involved in the profitable human-smuggling racket, law enforcement bodies tend to focus on stopping illegal migration rather than assisting asylum seekers.

UNHCR says that better systems are needed so that asylum seekers receive the help and protection they are entitled to under international law.

"The only way to distinguish between asylum seekers and those who are not is through professional authorities who can process and decide on every claim individually," says Dakin. "It is not up to border guards or other security forces to make that decision."

Ukraine: Sorting through the Wreckage

Conflict has changed the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. "We used to have such a beautiful, calm, tidy city," says Angelina, a social worker. Today, it is full of destroyed homes and infrastructure, a casualty of the fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian forces. More than half of the inhabitants - some 70,000 people - fled the city during the combat earlier this year. In recent weeks, with the city back under government control, some 15,000 have returned. But they face many challenges. Maria, aged 80, returned to a damaged home and sleeps in the kitchen with her family. She worries about getting her pension. The UN refugee agency has transported several tons of hygiene items and kitchen equipment to the city for distribution to those who lost their homes. Photojournalist Iva Zimova recently accompanied UNHCR staff as they visited more than 100 families to give put aid.

Ukraine: Sorting through the Wreckage

Displacement, Disability and Uncertainty in Ukraine

To date, around 275,500 people have been displaced by fighting in Ukraine. They include some who live with disability, including Viktoria, aged 41, and her husband, Aleksandr, 40, who both have cerebral palsy. Life is difficult enough under normal circumstances for the couple, who also have two sons; 20-year-old Dima, and Ivan aged 19 months. Now it has become a real struggle.

At the end of July, shelling in the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk forced Viktoria and Aleksandr to flee to the neighbouring Kharkiv region. It wasn't long before Viktoria's medication ran out. In a desperate bid to help, Aleksandr called the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, which found them transportation and accommodation in Kharkiv.

From there, they were taken to the Promotei Summer Camp, located near the town of Kupiansk. The forest, fresh air and a lake near the camp offered a perfect setting to spend the summer. But, like 120 other internally displaced people (IDP) living there, all Viktoria and Aleksandr could think about was home. They had hoped to return by the Autumn. But it soon came and went.

Today, it is still not safe to go back to Donetsk. Moreover, the camp has not been prepared for the coming winter and the administration has asked people to leave by October 15. Neither Viktoria nor Aleksandr know where they and their young son can go next. The following photographs of the couple and their youngest child were taken by Emine Ziyatdinova.

Displacement, Disability and Uncertainty in Ukraine

The Children of Harmanli Face a Bleak Winter

Since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011, more than 2 million people have fled the violence. Many have made their way to European Union countries, finding sanctuary in places like Germany and Sweden. Others are venturing into Europe by way of Bulgaria, where the authorities struggle to accommodate and care for some 8,000 asylum-seekers, many of whom are Syrian. More than 1,000 of these desperate people, including 300 children, languish in an overcrowded camp in the town of Harmanli, 50 kilometres from the Turkish-Bulgarian border. These people crossed the border in the hope of starting a new life in Europe. Some have travelled in family groups; many have come alone with dreams of reuniting in Europe with loved ones; and still others are unaccompanied children. The sheer number of people in Harmanli is taxing the ability of officials to process them, let alone shelter and feed them. This photo essay explores the daily challenges of life in Harmanli.

The Children of Harmanli Face a Bleak Winter

Greece: Refugee Crisis in Europe

Over 100,000 refugees have arrived to Greece by sea this year. UNHCR is mobilizing emergency teams, resources and delivering basic humanitarian assistance in order to address the most urgent gaps and support government efforts. Volunteers, local communities and NGOs are providing invaluable assistance but they need support.

Saving Diana: A Syrian Refugee With Special Needs

Ten year old Diana was born in Syria with a severe form of Cerebral Palsy. For nearly a month, she traveled with her mother and brother across deserts and sea in search of safety in Europe.

Jordan: Khaled Hosseini Visit

Bestselling author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Khaled Hosseini visited Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan this week to meet with Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict. As the conflict enters its fifth year, the situation is getting more desperate for Syrians, some of whom will risk everything and cross dangerous waters to find safety in Europe.